Asunción: While producers accuse slaughterhouses of oligopoly (price fixing) and the industry washes its hands, consumers are paying up to 40% more for certain cuts of beef.
According to the consumer price index compiled by the Central Bank of Paraguay (BCP), meat prices have increased by an average of 13% in the last two months; However, the reality is crueler for consumers on the shelves, with real prices rising by up to 40% over this period.
Some premium cuts like carnaza negra sell for more than 50,000 guaranies per kilogram, while premium cuts like hip cap (featured image) sell for 100,000 guaranies or even more, depending on the store.
In view of this situation, the National Competition Commission (Conacom) has opened an ex officio investigation after producers complained about an alleged artificial reduction in meat purchasing costs by meat packing companies.
“What we are investigating is the formation of a cartel, which means that they come together as part of an oligopsy and agree among themselves on the purchase prices for the livestock breeders,” said the supervisory authority.
background
The Paraguayan Farmers' Association (ARP) last week again called on the government to intervene ex officio through the National Competition Commission.
“It is important to clarify that we have had Expo for many years, the only divorce that exists is the unfair practices of the sector that imposes low prices on producers and the intention of foreign impositions that undermine our model of sustainable development, “That is recognized and appreciated all over the world can stop,” said the association's president Miguel Prieto.
He is alluding to the separation of the producer and industrial associations, which will no longer organize the traditional expo together. The dispute over the price of meat was one of the points that sealed the business divorce.
“Livestock farming is becoming less attractive under these conditions, as evidenced by the loss of livestock in recent years and the exit of 19,000 producers from the system.” “We have a big problem today with the concentration of the industry,” he said.
Industrialists
For its part, the Paraguayan Meat Chamber (CPC) points out that the price fluctuations of cuts of meat on the local market are linked to supply and demand, but also to the lack of intervention in controlling prices.
The brands offer products of different levels, e.g. B. Ultra-Premium, Upscale and Popular, so the differences are also due to the quality of the cuts.
“There are certain premium cuts that are offered by certain companies that people continue to buy.” “It's a small niche that exists,” Daniel Burt, the union's executive director, told a radio station.
For their part, the supermarkets point out that they are only middlemen and that the profit margins that the meat leaves are minimal.
Weekly / El Nacional
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